Welcome

Welcome to my blog , The Hare Illustratère. I'll be posting about my art process and journey as an illustrator/author here. To find out more about my whimsical & elegant illustrations on nifty things you can buy, please Visit my other blog, The Art Hare's Wares.

This is my spring 2010 self-promotion postcard. The hardest thing is deciding what to pick as your postcard image. Originally I had wanted to do a totally new image for the card - maybe a fantasy image - or bunnies for Easter etc. However my mind kept turning back to this piece in my portfolio... so Sunflower Friends it is. Just as well as I need to get these cards mailed before the postal rates go up in May. Not sure if the postcard stamps are affected but it's better to err on the safe side.

Just heard from Vistaprint that they've been shipped and I should get them soon. Already bought the stamps. Last year, the post office had run out of postcards stamps in April so this year I bought them early. Now I just need to update my mailing list, print out the labels and I'll be ready to get them out before the Mother's day deadline!

Other news - My blog article, Why an Artist Should Have a Blog, is posted on Greeting Card Designer as part of Kate Harper's Social Media in March series. Please Hop over and read. In fact browse through her blog it's full of useful info for all types of artists/illustrators.

Monday, March 22, 2010

The Obama Administration is asking creators to send in their stories on howintellectual property infringement affects our ability to earn a living,and hurts the US economy.

Victoria Espinel has been appointed and confirmed as the first U.S.Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator. She has put a call out for input onthe costs and risks of copyright infringement. As she states in her blog,"My job is to help protect the ideas and creativity of the American public...I believe it is enormously important that the United States remain a globalleader in these forms of innovation -- and part of how we do that is byappropriately protecting our intellectual property. Our intellectual propertyrepresents the hard work, creativity, resourcefulness, investment andingenuity of the American public."

Click here to read the full posting.

PLEASE SEND IN YOUR COMMENTS.Please share your experiences on how intellectual property rights areimportant to you and your business, and how you've been negatively impacted bycopyright infringement.

• Email the White House at intellectualproperty@omb.eop.gov. Besure to include your name, location, and occupation. Remember that allcomments will be posted publicly on the White House website, so don't include anyinformation which you don't want broadcast.• Forward this email to your friends and colleagues, andencourage them to send in their stories of copyright infringement!• Broadcast this call for comments on any social networking siteyou participate on: Twitter, Facebook, etc. You can retweet the Guild'sTwitter post.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Last October I experimented with drawing outside my usual cute, whimsical, illustration mindset. This is one of my doodles from that period. I had a lot of fun while vacationing away from my style and came out of it feeling refreshed and I'd like to think better than ever. It helped to expand my parameters. Draw like someone else for fun - try it if you're in a creative rut and your usual block busting techniques are not working.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Thought I'd attempt to share the experience of seeing the show live. Imagine these 2 photos side by side. Beginning on the left with Frog and Castle illustrations going all the way across the long wall to the Big Bear. Click on the photos for a slightly larger view.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Just received the Postcards I created for the HBF Exhibit (see previous post) that I ordered from Vistaprint about 12 days ago. I should have used the 7 day delivery option but I had to be a wise guy. Previously I had used the slow deliver, cheapest option and always received my order within a week. Why pay extra for 7 days if I don't have to - right? Ta-dah... because.. when you most need it in 7 days - they change their delivery methods. Anyhow it's here now. Not too bad. It could've been March 21st which is the original slow delivery date. While it would have been nice to have all my handouts out at once - it's not crucial. I do have an art list flyer with all my website, GCU and IK URLs out and I have also designed a few bookmarks.

Did consider having a "Guest sign in/comment" book until I looked at the featured artist's "book" in the main gallery - I was surprised to see negative comments!?! sprinkled throughout and very few - e-mails - which is the purpose of a guest book. The negative, snarky comments were a bit of a shocker after all who needs that! Incidentally I liked her images. So no guest book for me.

So far my out-of-pocket expenses for this promotion experiment has been the cost of 3 pre-cut mats, 11 frames/hanging wire and 250 Postcards. Luckily I had some hanging wire and enough white mat boards to cut out 9 mats. Thankfully the library is taking care of the art list and bookmarks.

Now I'm off to drop-off my postcards - about 30 should be fine to start with and I'll check back weekly to see if they need to be replenished.

Friday, March 5, 2010

13 of my Spring themed illustrations are now hanging in the children's room gallery at the Harborfields Public Library. They will be on exhibit from March 5 - April 30th - so if you're in the Greenlawn, NY area drop in and take a peek.

Just installed this morning and I must say they look pretty good - hanging up in their white mats and thin black frames. We started installing at 9:30 am and finished before things got too busy at the library. I'm glad I decided to show the originals as nowadays - most people just see the printed or the online versions.